Sept. 8, 2009 | By Paul F. South
NEW ORLEANS - Jeremy Wilkerson is a minister's kid, born two months premature in the Piney Woods of East Texas.
For "preemies" at that time, the survival rate was about one percent. But Wilkerson's parents knew God had a plan for their little son.
"There's no doubt our God is a God of purpose," Wilkerson, a student at Leavell College of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary said.
For Wilkerson, who grew up in a musical family, the latest product of that purpose is Wilkerson's first album, "God of Creation." A self-described "acoustically-driven praise and worship" project, the album is making the rounds in online music sites and stores, including iTunes, Amazon and Napster.
"The idea behind the songs of this album is to display our God as a God who creates, sustains and is intimately involved in the lives of His people," Wilkerson said. "It's an idea that I've been challenged with as I've studied the Psalms. Originally (the album) was going to be ‘This is my God; this is who my God is and these are some of the things He does.' But the songs seemed to hit more along the lines of ‘God is doing something. Here is what He is doing throughout life."
At 12, growing up in Kilgore, Texas, Wilkerson started his musical journey playing drums in a musical family.
"There was a constant flow of music," Wilkerson said. "My Dad was a music minister. My mom played piano and gave piano lessons. All of us -my sister and I- were in band. By the time I was in sixth grade, there was always some type of music in the house."
From that foundation, there were other musical influences, as diverse as the late contemporary Christian music pioneer Keith Green, Rich Mullins, Michael Card, Lincoln Brewster and the Irish rock band U2.
"My heart has been for a long time for people to connect with an almighty God, an almighty living God and through everything that they do, God would be glorified. My heart is writing songs for the church that they can sing."
Wilkerson, 29, added, "My prayer is that people will have this and maybe it will spark something in their lives that says, ‘We do have a God of creation who is doing things in our lives and changing our lives. And that makes me happy. I want to sing about it.' I want to write songs that people want to sing."
Wilkerson will receive his bachelor's degree in Christian Ministry from Leavell College in December. His academic work at the seminary has influenced his music.
"(The seminary) has impacted how I study scripture," Wilkerson said. "I believe some of the songs I have written would not have been written had I not had some of the foundations that I've gotten here, in terms of a better understanding of scripture and who God is. So that played a big role."
For more information on Jeremy Wilkerson's God of Creation, contact: www.worshipconnex.com.